Today I read an interesting interview in GQ.
Well, actually is was a re-post on JoBlo.com- my subscription to GQ was rejected due to massive "un-coolery" (their words, not mine).
Nevertheless, it was an interview with Francis Ford Coppola and here is an excerpt:
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"I met both Pacino and De Niro when they were really on the come," Coppola tells GQ's Nate Penn. "They were young and insecure. Now Pacino is very rich, maybe because he never spends any money; he just puts it in his mattress. De Niro was deeply inspired by (Coppola's studio American) Zoetrope and created an empire and is wealthy and powerful.
"Nicholson was — when I met him and worked with him — he was always kind of a joker. He's got a little bit of a mean streak. He's intelligent, always wired in with the big guys and the big bosses of the studios.
"I don't know what any of them want anymore. I don't know that they want the same things. Pacino always wanted to do theater ... (He) will say, 'Oh, I was raised next to a furnace in New York, and I'm never going to go to L.A.,' but they all live off the fat of the land."
Not one of the actors would comment (De Niro and Pacino were on the set of Jon Avnet's crime drama "Righteous Kill").
Some might ask Coppola how he has challenged himself lately. He admits he has been focused on his vineyard and on his resorts in Belize and Guatemala. He's coming out with an art film, "Youth Without Youth," for the first time in 10 years, a period when he has mostly executive-produced daughter Sofia 's pictures and, ironically, De Niro's "The Good Shepherd" last year.
"I think if there was a role that De Niro was hungry for, he would come after it. I don't think Jack would. Jack has money and influence and girls, and I think he's a little bit like (Marlon) Brando, except Brando went through some tough times. I guess they don't want to do it anymore.
"You know, even in those days, after 'The Godfather,' I didn't feel that those actors were ready to say, 'Let's do something else really ambitious.' A guy like (38-year-old "Before Night Falls" star) Javier Bardem is excited to do something good: 'Let me do this' or 'I'll put stuff in my mouth, change my appearance.' I don't feel that kind of passion to do a role and be great coming from those guys, because if it was there, they would do it."
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This got me thinking. I think I agree with him. And as far as those who would claim that he is being hypocritical, I don’t know if I totally see it that way. On the one hand, yes, I do think it is important to remember that this is from the director of JACK- but let’s not forget that this is a filmmaker who has always taken big risks for his art. He has put his own money into his films repeatedly- even after having lost it many times over. You gotta respect a man who is willing to do that. Let’s also not forget that he has invested in many amazing filmmakers over the years- producing many amazing, risk taking films. Everything from American Graffiti to Jeepers Creepers (child molesting directors aside).
Most importantly however, is the notion that I agree with which is that it is better to take a ten year absence from filmmaking then make ten years of Showtime, Two For the Money and Something’s Gotta Give. Does it take more courage to do this? Debatable. I’d say yes but it is arguable that at least in making bad art there is always the slim chance that you could perhaps ACCIDENTALLY make something good- or that maybe there was something other than the money that motivated those actors to take those roles. The chance to work with another actor (Diane Keaton? Dustin Hoffman?) or director (Andrew Niccol?) they respect, a screenplay that was of some amount of quality at some point before studio meddling (15 Minutes?). These arguments might have some weight if it didn’t seem like Pacino, De Niro and Nicholson didn’t look so bored while they did it.
When I watch a movie with some of the more exciting actors today like Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell and (as Coppola said) Javier Bardem- you can see that they love what they are doing, even when the movie is subpar. I defy you to watch a Christian Bale movie and tell me that he is not good in it- or at the very least giving it his all. The only problem with this is that it can give you a career or great performances in busted- or at very least, deeply flawed movies. Example: 3:10 To Yuma, American Psycho, The Machinist etc. This brings up another part of this debate- which I call the “Daniel Day-Lewis Factor” – in which you have an actor who has so much integrity that he only makes one movie every five years or so as long as it is one he is passionate about thus created a nigh flawless resume (the exception being Gangs of New York – which I will give him because… uh, it’s a Martin Scorsese movie so… why wouldn’t he do it?).
The bottom line for me is that De Niro, Pacino and Nicholson all have the power. They can nod and get movies made. Even someone with what is almost universally called the 2nd greatest movie ever made like Coppola doesn’t command as much power as any one of those three. Movies are made because those guys agree to do them. Films are crafted around these men and their larger than life personas- allowing them to go through half a career without even really having to act at all. Let’s be honest, when was the last time that any of these guys made a movie wasn’t just filled with the same old tricks that they’ve been pulling since the mid 80s. The intensity button (De Niro), the manic energy switch (Pacino) and the smarmy charmy lever (Nicholson). In fairness though, About Schmidt had probably one of the very few Nicholson performances that hasn’t just been Jack being Jack in a VERY long while. But, my point remains the same.
Why haven’t these guys, with so much power and say-so in the industry, with the first pick of any script in the entire industry, with enough money and clout to give 1000 visionary directors their shot- what have they accomplished? Flaccid movies like “Analyze This/That”, “The Recruit” and “Anger Management”.
Where are the amazing films that gave these guys their power? I mean seriously, we’re talking about the guys who made “Taxi Driver”, “Dog Day Afternoon” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest”! These are the guys that built a career on making classic films that broke rules and boundaries.
Frankly, there are more people that should be on that list of people who somehow in the course of the last 20 years lost their creative spines. If you google the phrase “greatest living actor” a list by Empire Magazine will show up and guess who the top three are?
Here are the top 20:
1) Robert De Niro
2) Al Pacino
3) Jack Nicholson
4) Paul Newman
5) Marlon Brando
6) Anthony Hopkins
7) Morgan Freeman
8) Dustin Hoffman
9) Clint Eastwood
10) Sigourney Weaver
11) Gene Hackman
12) Harrison Ford
13) Sean Connery
14) Meryl Streep
15) Ian McKellen
16) Christopher Lee
17) Sidney Poitier
18) Robert Redford
19) Alan Rickman
20) Judi Dench
I guess the list is old since Brando’s long dead- but even so, let’s just take a look at it, shall we? How many of the people on this list still have their integrity intact? Newman, Eastwood (even though I am not a fan, at least he hasn’t so willingly participated in garbage), Weaver (though she is a woman and for better or worse, aren’t given as much of a chance to sell out- but she DID defecate all over her cred by participating in one of those direct tv classic film parodies/sacrileges for Aliens), Hoffman (maybe… MEET THE FOCKERS!) Hackman (kinda… HEARTBREAKERS!), Streep, Poitier, Redford (Sundance has pretty much sainted him) and Dench. Now for the others. Hopkins. Freeman. Ford. Connery. McKellen (and of course the top 3) – when was the last time that any of these a-holes actually gave a damn about a movie or took a chance or even turned in a performance that posed any kind of real challenge? Can anyone honestly say they’ve even been surprised by a performance by ANY of the people on this list- even the ones that I exempt? Seriously?
And another thing- what the eff is CHRISTOPHER LEE doing on this list? We are talking about THE Count Dooku, right? The guy is like iconic for over acting! If they built a statue of him out of solid iron, it would STILL manage to gesticulate wildly and probably include a speaker that would boom out dialogue in ridiculous pseudo Shakespearian vernacular. It’s like he has two settings: “Off” and “Mustache Twirling Arch Villain”.
And as far as Alan Rickman goes, yes, we all loved Hans and his little dance as he fell from the top of Nacatomi Plaza. So- fine, he can stay.
But where is Day-Lewis? Where is Ben Kingsly? Tom Cruise, Ed Harris, Michael Cane, Richard Dreyfus and again, CHRISTIAN BALE deserve to be one here. Has anyone who voted on this list even SEEN movies before? Even Christopher Plummer deserves to be on that list before Christopher Lee! Hell, Christopher Rock deserves to be on that list before Christopher Lee does.
I could go on and on- probably segueing into directors who have sold out or somehow lost any sense of seeming relevant to the world outside of making weak or easy or just films that almost seem like forth generation copies of copies of their former selves. Spielberg? Lynch? Lucas? Burton? DEPALMA (who was never any good)? Stone (who once prided himself on being controversial and culturally acute)?
To say nothing of the last generation of interesting filmmakers who have already seemed to lose their spark (I’m talking to YOU M. Night!- I'd add the Coens but it looks like No Country for Old Men will be a return to form for them).
The only respectable filmmaker left who seems to still challenge himself is Scorsese and at least thus far P.T. Anderson and David Fincher- but only time will tell. William Friedkin won me back with "Bug" but he made a whole bunch of crap too. Even filmmakers I like have lagged a bit (Wes Anderson) and relied on stylistic crutches that have in some ways kept them from growing. Soderberg and Van Sant are sorta tricky, switching off on big obvious films to small almost overly insular movies about- well, who knows what (although I loved Solaris and even liked Elephant a little bit too.)
Is the only way to maintain true artistic vision to die before you get the chance to screw your legacy up (see: Stanly Kubrick)? I sure hope not.
ANYWAY- I’m rambling. The POINT is that I agree with Mr. Coppola.
This leaves me with only one question:
Why the hell did I lose the Zoetrope screenwriting contest, Francis?! TWICE?!
What ‘up wit dat?!
Sleep Well.
-Joseph.
Friday, October 19, 2007
There is a hemmorage in your mouth.
So the deadline for submission to the Dashboard Confessional video contest has finally past. Thus begins the chronally challenged “judging” period where, no doubt, a few of the interns at Vagrant will pick their top four favorites. It is never easy to understand what exactly the judging criteria will be- or if my video will get booted because they made one intern work through lunch thus giving him or her a low blood-sugar induced headache and thus he/she was just too pissed to do anything but piss on every video he/she sees. It’s frightening to know that the fate of my video lies in a jeopardy that could have easily been avoided if someone had just packed a few fun sized Baby Ruths when they left the house that morning.
As far as the “chronally challenged” line- I say this because the deadlines of these contests always seem to have some sort of sincere weight but the timeline given as to when those who bust their balls to make said deadline will find out the results are always incredibly relaxed. If I’ve seen it once I’ve seen it a thousand times. No matter how prestigious the contest, no matter how many years it has been in operation, it never ceases to amaze me how disorganized they can be- posting results sometimes MONTHS late! It also seems like more of these contests would be “high tech” enough to be able to if not inform those who did not win via e-mail, then at least send out a bulk e-mail to everyone that the winners have been announced. I have paid money to enter countless contests and only months after the posted announcement date has passes dropped by their website and found a list of winners buried three news bulletins down.
For this and so many other reasons, I hate these contests and I worry that this will be no exception.
That said, Keir asked me if I wanted to make a short for another contest sponsored by YouTube. I said yes. Why? Because I am a glutton for punishment.
A stupid, stupid glutton for punishment.
Also I’m ugly.
Just kidding.
Sleep Well.
-Joseph.
As far as the “chronally challenged” line- I say this because the deadlines of these contests always seem to have some sort of sincere weight but the timeline given as to when those who bust their balls to make said deadline will find out the results are always incredibly relaxed. If I’ve seen it once I’ve seen it a thousand times. No matter how prestigious the contest, no matter how many years it has been in operation, it never ceases to amaze me how disorganized they can be- posting results sometimes MONTHS late! It also seems like more of these contests would be “high tech” enough to be able to if not inform those who did not win via e-mail, then at least send out a bulk e-mail to everyone that the winners have been announced. I have paid money to enter countless contests and only months after the posted announcement date has passes dropped by their website and found a list of winners buried three news bulletins down.
For this and so many other reasons, I hate these contests and I worry that this will be no exception.
That said, Keir asked me if I wanted to make a short for another contest sponsored by YouTube. I said yes. Why? Because I am a glutton for punishment.
A stupid, stupid glutton for punishment.
Also I’m ugly.
Just kidding.
Sleep Well.
-Joseph.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Subbing at South Gate High
Right now I’m sitting at South Gate High School. I’m “teaching” 9th graders. Their assignment is to find the definitions of a list of words and write them down. Tough stuff. Then again- one girl asked me what “antagonize” meant. She pronounced it “anti-ganize”.
So here I am. Not much to do. I tried reading for a bit but I was starting to dose after a while. Next I have lunch and then I will be showing a video ominously labeled “ENRON”, which I’m sure will interest the kids for the 92 allotted minutes.
Yeah. Sure it will.
Since I started this blog I’ve been posting close to once a day- which has left me with very little to talk about at the moment. I’m even tapped out on my always stimulating thoughts on music and what I am currently listening to. Wait- hang on…
Okay. I had to tell the kids to “lower it” which sounds just as authoritative as you’d think.
I’m not looking forward to lunch. Peanut butter again. Also the remnants of confetti sized chips located at the bottom of the “family size” bag of Doritos that has been filling sandwich bags for my lunch for the past two weeks. Then I have a couple of malformed fun size Twix bars that I bought thanks to an early Halloween candy sale.
I wonder why they call them “Fun Size”? It seems to me that to most kids, the idea of a candy bar being “fun sized” would translate to it being abnormally large. Personally, I don’t think that it being half the size of a regular or “less fun” version would qualify as something to be excited about. But maybe that’s just me.
Finally, the complete my lunch is a small bottle of Orange Gatorade. I think it was meant for kindergarten aged Soccer players and T-Ball games. It, like the rest of the contents of my lunch was on sale. Little midget Gatorades, dwarfed in my hands as if they were regular sized and I was just a giant. Like the candy bars, this too has an odd label emblazed across it: “ALL-STAR SIZE!” Apparently everything that is on sale at Vons is either much smaller than its regularly priced counterpart or much much bigger (in the case of the freakishly large bag of Doritos that is apparently capable of feeding an entire family).
I have been taking place in a war for the past few months. Someone is buying every single package of the tuna fish that I like. The little drain-free pouches of “chunk-lite” tuna in water. Every time I go to the grocery they are out. Sure, they have PLENTY of the pouches of tuna in sunflower oil or the albacore kind- both of which have the taste and consistency of cat food- but someone buys the tuna I like by the gross. Plus they NEVER get a new shipment in. When they do, within a DAY it is immediately exhausted. It sucks because I know that due to the many other styles and brands of tuna available, it looks, to the untrained eye as though there is enough tuna options to feed a small finicky army but the kind I like is ALWAYS gone. I must not be the only one. But what I am trying to figure out is whether it is just one or two other people- or whether everyone is like me and finds tuna soaked in sunflower oil as repulsive as if it were soaked in vomit. The oil just gets all over your fingers and gives the tuna the odd after taste. As though I chased it with a bottle of Crisco.
I find it amusing how often I have to pretend that so much of this school crap matters. I was just interrupted by a young girl asking me if she should staple just the two worksheets together- or all three. If not, should she staple just the first two and then paperclip the last one to the others? This kinda thing happens a lot and it is important that I nod thoughtfully before saying whatever option pops into my head first as though it were almost Biblical.
“Hmmm. Well, let’s go with just stapling the vocabulary but I’ll just collect all three at once.”
“Oh- so… Just the vocabulary?”
I can tell by this girl’s voice that she has the wrong idea.
“Well- just staple the vocabulary, I’ll be collecting it all but you only need to staple the vocabulary together.”
“Oh, okay. So just staple the vocabulary.”
“Yes.”
“So we don’t need to hand in the other stuff?”
“MISTER!” I hear from across the room. “Do we have to hand in everything?” says a kid wearing a single iPod earphone “covertly” like he’s fooling anyone. But before I can answer the girl at my desk turns to him and yells:
“NO! JUST THE VOCABULARY!”
Sigh. And then I have to explain it all over again. This time with the use of monosyllabic words, physical demonstrations and explanatory hand gestures.
I can’t figure out where the problem lies- am I just really bad at this? Are the kids really this dumb? Or perhaps the problem is really just laziness. They would rather not pay attention for a long enough span of time to understand what the directions are- opting to waste far more of not only their time but my precious sanity as well. Granted the “stapling” question plays a factor, something that I should have foreseen and just asked that they hand it all in.
Most of the class will not hand anything in at all. This is typical. Probably because the kids know that none of the work that they do today will matter- or even be looked at,. Let alone be graded. I wonder if this upsets the teacher at all though. The knowledge that when they are absent that the kids know to disregard any plans the teacher may have made- no matter how well meaning or well planned they were. Do they blame me? Think I’m a sucky sub for not getting on them more? I hope not.
-
So, lunch was as much of a disappointment as I thought it’d be. I’m now in period 3 (of my 4 hour and a half long classes). We’re watching the “Enron” video- which is predictably one of those “Scandal of the Week” movies that CBS used to make. It’s terrible. The dialogue, the acting… everything. It’s called “The Crooked E.”
In one scene two characters kiss and immediately one of the kids shouted “he’s gonna get laid!” and the class erupts in laughter.
Some woman is speaking with the most fake southern accent I’ve ever heard. Isn’t a southern accent like the easiest accent ever?
Making these kids pay attention to this is a losing battle. Anyone could see that. Why did this teacher think these kids would care about Enron? Even I don’t care about this and I’m not an 11th grader surrounded by peers and members of the opposite sex while drowning in hormones. Plus everyone of them has iPods and cell phones and PSPs and Sidekicks. How can this humble Enron video compete?
It seems strange but I’ve counted now and this class room has four- yes FOUR “Hair” posters. Presumably because she is either a very big fan or the play or an ex cast member. Possibly both- but then- who’s really a fan of “Hair”?
In the movie, there is a meeting of Enron employees, their middle management boss is explaining what the company does saying: “So say your company goes bankrupt- what do you do? We’ll, that’s where Enron comes in. We insure your company so that the fall out isn’t so bad.” To which, the young new upstate askes “What if Enron goes bankrupt?” The group goes silent- the boss somewhere between severly confused and intensely upset- but before the upstart can be answered, he smiles and yells in someone’s face: “Ya-haa!” to, I guess represent the company’s devil may care, impervious machine attitude. He is then told by his boss to: “Get outta here you crazy kids! GO MAKE SOME MONEY!” Subtle. Very subtle.
Oh my gosh- Brian Dennehy plays someone named Mr. Blue. This is awesome.
It gets better. Shannon Elizabeth plays the part of “Courtney” and she is- as expected, amazing.
The upstart just made a 50 million dollar deal. Everyone in the film seems to care- but in a way that seems so totally unconvincing.
Some security guy just took half of my class, saying that they wouldn’t be coming back today. Weird.
Uh oh. The upstart is getting cocky. He just bought an expensive car. His wife Courtney has a bad feeling. He tells her: “Honey, don’t be silly! Enron?! We’re UNSTOPPABLE!” But the camera lingers on Courtney as he walks away- her face shows concern… and what do you think this ominous music could mean?!
The upstart just closed the big deal. He’s singing “Taking care of business” victoriously.
The kids seem to like this for some reason.
Some handicapped girl came in with a helper and told me that she’s supposed to be my ‘assistant’ but then about 5 minutes later left. Her helper told me that she was feeling dizzy. What was that all about?
Its kinda funny when a student looks to me and tells me: “I don’t get this movie.” To which I say, “well, have you been paying attention?”
“no”
“Well, it might help if you did.”
“No. I’m just not gonna do this” she says, pointing to the video worksheet.
What do I do in this situation? I don’t really know. So I just shrug and say “Alright, well you’ll only get a zero.” But really, what does that mean? She won’t get a zero. A zero in what?
UH OH! All the employees are investing in Enron. The music is pretty scary. This can’t be good. None of the class is watching or cares even a little. I can’t say that I blame them. Why are we even watching a movie about Enron in an 11th grade English class?
The upstart is staring to put Enron’s doomed future together. It’s all coming together. This movie has me hooked. It’s so much better than I was giving it credit for- even Shannon Elizabeth deserves an Oscar! I’m so glad that I get to watch this whole thing again next period. SO GLAD.
Brian Dennehy is back. You can tell that he is embarrassed to even be in this flaming turd. He’s been in it for a total of 3 minutes so far. Three pride swallowing minutes to be sure.
The upstart got mad that Courtney didn’t understand virtual assets. She just called him a virtual ass. Ouch.
I wonder if in a film like this is really good acting might stick out and actually seem really bad. I can’t imagine a great actor reading these lines and not looking stupid. Only bad actors seem to be able to read them and make sense. What a strange conundrum.
What the crap?! The upstart is realizing he’s screwed and behind him is the sound of slowed down demonic laughter. What is going on?!
Enron just collapsed- but the upstart made up with Shannon Elizibeth to the tune of cheesy country music. I guess it all turned out okay. That’s nice.
The movie ended. The credit music was a bad cover of that Pink Floyd song “Money” – how appropriate. How expected. How cliché.
The period ended to. I got back 3 worksheets out of 22. Swell.
Now a new period. A new viewing. I can barely contain myself. I get to follow the adventures of all of my old friends at Enron. Yipee. But in all honesty, I can’t wait to watch the demonic laughter scene again. Heh.
Well- as scintillating as I’m sure this blog has been for you I think I’m gonna wrap it up.
Blah blah blah.
Sleep well.
-Joseph.
So here I am. Not much to do. I tried reading for a bit but I was starting to dose after a while. Next I have lunch and then I will be showing a video ominously labeled “ENRON”, which I’m sure will interest the kids for the 92 allotted minutes.
Yeah. Sure it will.
Since I started this blog I’ve been posting close to once a day- which has left me with very little to talk about at the moment. I’m even tapped out on my always stimulating thoughts on music and what I am currently listening to. Wait- hang on…
Okay. I had to tell the kids to “lower it” which sounds just as authoritative as you’d think.
I’m not looking forward to lunch. Peanut butter again. Also the remnants of confetti sized chips located at the bottom of the “family size” bag of Doritos that has been filling sandwich bags for my lunch for the past two weeks. Then I have a couple of malformed fun size Twix bars that I bought thanks to an early Halloween candy sale.
I wonder why they call them “Fun Size”? It seems to me that to most kids, the idea of a candy bar being “fun sized” would translate to it being abnormally large. Personally, I don’t think that it being half the size of a regular or “less fun” version would qualify as something to be excited about. But maybe that’s just me.
Finally, the complete my lunch is a small bottle of Orange Gatorade. I think it was meant for kindergarten aged Soccer players and T-Ball games. It, like the rest of the contents of my lunch was on sale. Little midget Gatorades, dwarfed in my hands as if they were regular sized and I was just a giant. Like the candy bars, this too has an odd label emblazed across it: “ALL-STAR SIZE!” Apparently everything that is on sale at Vons is either much smaller than its regularly priced counterpart or much much bigger (in the case of the freakishly large bag of Doritos that is apparently capable of feeding an entire family).
I have been taking place in a war for the past few months. Someone is buying every single package of the tuna fish that I like. The little drain-free pouches of “chunk-lite” tuna in water. Every time I go to the grocery they are out. Sure, they have PLENTY of the pouches of tuna in sunflower oil or the albacore kind- both of which have the taste and consistency of cat food- but someone buys the tuna I like by the gross. Plus they NEVER get a new shipment in. When they do, within a DAY it is immediately exhausted. It sucks because I know that due to the many other styles and brands of tuna available, it looks, to the untrained eye as though there is enough tuna options to feed a small finicky army but the kind I like is ALWAYS gone. I must not be the only one. But what I am trying to figure out is whether it is just one or two other people- or whether everyone is like me and finds tuna soaked in sunflower oil as repulsive as if it were soaked in vomit. The oil just gets all over your fingers and gives the tuna the odd after taste. As though I chased it with a bottle of Crisco.
I find it amusing how often I have to pretend that so much of this school crap matters. I was just interrupted by a young girl asking me if she should staple just the two worksheets together- or all three. If not, should she staple just the first two and then paperclip the last one to the others? This kinda thing happens a lot and it is important that I nod thoughtfully before saying whatever option pops into my head first as though it were almost Biblical.
“Hmmm. Well, let’s go with just stapling the vocabulary but I’ll just collect all three at once.”
“Oh- so… Just the vocabulary?”
I can tell by this girl’s voice that she has the wrong idea.
“Well- just staple the vocabulary, I’ll be collecting it all but you only need to staple the vocabulary together.”
“Oh, okay. So just staple the vocabulary.”
“Yes.”
“So we don’t need to hand in the other stuff?”
“MISTER!” I hear from across the room. “Do we have to hand in everything?” says a kid wearing a single iPod earphone “covertly” like he’s fooling anyone. But before I can answer the girl at my desk turns to him and yells:
“NO! JUST THE VOCABULARY!”
Sigh. And then I have to explain it all over again. This time with the use of monosyllabic words, physical demonstrations and explanatory hand gestures.
I can’t figure out where the problem lies- am I just really bad at this? Are the kids really this dumb? Or perhaps the problem is really just laziness. They would rather not pay attention for a long enough span of time to understand what the directions are- opting to waste far more of not only their time but my precious sanity as well. Granted the “stapling” question plays a factor, something that I should have foreseen and just asked that they hand it all in.
Most of the class will not hand anything in at all. This is typical. Probably because the kids know that none of the work that they do today will matter- or even be looked at,. Let alone be graded. I wonder if this upsets the teacher at all though. The knowledge that when they are absent that the kids know to disregard any plans the teacher may have made- no matter how well meaning or well planned they were. Do they blame me? Think I’m a sucky sub for not getting on them more? I hope not.
-
So, lunch was as much of a disappointment as I thought it’d be. I’m now in period 3 (of my 4 hour and a half long classes). We’re watching the “Enron” video- which is predictably one of those “Scandal of the Week” movies that CBS used to make. It’s terrible. The dialogue, the acting… everything. It’s called “The Crooked E.”
In one scene two characters kiss and immediately one of the kids shouted “he’s gonna get laid!” and the class erupts in laughter.
Some woman is speaking with the most fake southern accent I’ve ever heard. Isn’t a southern accent like the easiest accent ever?
Making these kids pay attention to this is a losing battle. Anyone could see that. Why did this teacher think these kids would care about Enron? Even I don’t care about this and I’m not an 11th grader surrounded by peers and members of the opposite sex while drowning in hormones. Plus everyone of them has iPods and cell phones and PSPs and Sidekicks. How can this humble Enron video compete?
It seems strange but I’ve counted now and this class room has four- yes FOUR “Hair” posters. Presumably because she is either a very big fan or the play or an ex cast member. Possibly both- but then- who’s really a fan of “Hair”?
In the movie, there is a meeting of Enron employees, their middle management boss is explaining what the company does saying: “So say your company goes bankrupt- what do you do? We’ll, that’s where Enron comes in. We insure your company so that the fall out isn’t so bad.” To which, the young new upstate askes “What if Enron goes bankrupt?” The group goes silent- the boss somewhere between severly confused and intensely upset- but before the upstart can be answered, he smiles and yells in someone’s face: “Ya-haa!” to, I guess represent the company’s devil may care, impervious machine attitude. He is then told by his boss to: “Get outta here you crazy kids! GO MAKE SOME MONEY!” Subtle. Very subtle.
Oh my gosh- Brian Dennehy plays someone named Mr. Blue. This is awesome.
It gets better. Shannon Elizabeth plays the part of “Courtney” and she is- as expected, amazing.
The upstart just made a 50 million dollar deal. Everyone in the film seems to care- but in a way that seems so totally unconvincing.
Some security guy just took half of my class, saying that they wouldn’t be coming back today. Weird.
Uh oh. The upstart is getting cocky. He just bought an expensive car. His wife Courtney has a bad feeling. He tells her: “Honey, don’t be silly! Enron?! We’re UNSTOPPABLE!” But the camera lingers on Courtney as he walks away- her face shows concern… and what do you think this ominous music could mean?!
The upstart just closed the big deal. He’s singing “Taking care of business” victoriously.
The kids seem to like this for some reason.
Some handicapped girl came in with a helper and told me that she’s supposed to be my ‘assistant’ but then about 5 minutes later left. Her helper told me that she was feeling dizzy. What was that all about?
Its kinda funny when a student looks to me and tells me: “I don’t get this movie.” To which I say, “well, have you been paying attention?”
“no”
“Well, it might help if you did.”
“No. I’m just not gonna do this” she says, pointing to the video worksheet.
What do I do in this situation? I don’t really know. So I just shrug and say “Alright, well you’ll only get a zero.” But really, what does that mean? She won’t get a zero. A zero in what?
UH OH! All the employees are investing in Enron. The music is pretty scary. This can’t be good. None of the class is watching or cares even a little. I can’t say that I blame them. Why are we even watching a movie about Enron in an 11th grade English class?
The upstart is staring to put Enron’s doomed future together. It’s all coming together. This movie has me hooked. It’s so much better than I was giving it credit for- even Shannon Elizabeth deserves an Oscar! I’m so glad that I get to watch this whole thing again next period. SO GLAD.
Brian Dennehy is back. You can tell that he is embarrassed to even be in this flaming turd. He’s been in it for a total of 3 minutes so far. Three pride swallowing minutes to be sure.
The upstart got mad that Courtney didn’t understand virtual assets. She just called him a virtual ass. Ouch.
I wonder if in a film like this is really good acting might stick out and actually seem really bad. I can’t imagine a great actor reading these lines and not looking stupid. Only bad actors seem to be able to read them and make sense. What a strange conundrum.
What the crap?! The upstart is realizing he’s screwed and behind him is the sound of slowed down demonic laughter. What is going on?!
Enron just collapsed- but the upstart made up with Shannon Elizibeth to the tune of cheesy country music. I guess it all turned out okay. That’s nice.
The movie ended. The credit music was a bad cover of that Pink Floyd song “Money” – how appropriate. How expected. How cliché.
The period ended to. I got back 3 worksheets out of 22. Swell.
Now a new period. A new viewing. I can barely contain myself. I get to follow the adventures of all of my old friends at Enron. Yipee. But in all honesty, I can’t wait to watch the demonic laughter scene again. Heh.
Well- as scintillating as I’m sure this blog has been for you I think I’m gonna wrap it up.
Blah blah blah.
Sleep well.
-Joseph.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Take these rings, stow them safe away I'll wear them on another rainy day.
1. I've decided that I want to turn one of my old scripts "A Life Unusual" into a graphic novel so I've been looking for artists that may want to work on it with me. I'm kinda stoked by the idea!
2. The new Weakerthans album "Reunion Tour" is AMAZING! I am so glad that i have it. The whole thing is great! I'm trying really hard not to burn myself out of the album too quick- which is kinda hard because i want to know all the words by heart right now!
3. You ever get the feeling that none of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs lyrics make any sense? I do. I don't know, maybe they are just 'above me' or something. all the same, i like them- I just wish that I could really grasp Karen O's words. I feel like every time I come close I lose it- why do "maps" not love them like she loves them?
4. I met Brendon Small last night - he of Home Movies fame. Very nice. I kinda had to hold my fan boy in. He was pretty laid back and I was trying to seem cool as i slowly unspooled my many questions and bits of praise. It took so much strength not to scream "I WANNA PARTY WITH YOU!" - until I realized that, actually, I kinda was. Me and Ruby and a few other cool comics (Ron "Mr. Lynch" Lynch.) were just sitting around a table hanging out. I am so used to having to explain how much I admire someone's work in the span of 5 seconds (before they either run away or have me escorted away from their office, vacation house or 5 year old daughter's birthday party). I had so much more time here. I got to hear a pretty sad story about M. Night Shamalan. Possibly just a rumor but possibly not. Apparently he has a habit of dangling parts in his films in front of aspiring actresses and then firing them if they spurn his sexual advances. Yuck. What a let down. Man, you'd think I'd be used to my heroes letting me down but it still stings a little every time (even after they've made Lady in the Water).
Sleep Well.
-Joseph.
2. The new Weakerthans album "Reunion Tour" is AMAZING! I am so glad that i have it. The whole thing is great! I'm trying really hard not to burn myself out of the album too quick- which is kinda hard because i want to know all the words by heart right now!
3. You ever get the feeling that none of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs lyrics make any sense? I do. I don't know, maybe they are just 'above me' or something. all the same, i like them- I just wish that I could really grasp Karen O's words. I feel like every time I come close I lose it- why do "maps" not love them like she loves them?
4. I met Brendon Small last night - he of Home Movies fame. Very nice. I kinda had to hold my fan boy in. He was pretty laid back and I was trying to seem cool as i slowly unspooled my many questions and bits of praise. It took so much strength not to scream "I WANNA PARTY WITH YOU!" - until I realized that, actually, I kinda was. Me and Ruby and a few other cool comics (Ron "Mr. Lynch" Lynch.) were just sitting around a table hanging out. I am so used to having to explain how much I admire someone's work in the span of 5 seconds (before they either run away or have me escorted away from their office, vacation house or 5 year old daughter's birthday party). I had so much more time here. I got to hear a pretty sad story about M. Night Shamalan. Possibly just a rumor but possibly not. Apparently he has a habit of dangling parts in his films in front of aspiring actresses and then firing them if they spurn his sexual advances. Yuck. What a let down. Man, you'd think I'd be used to my heroes letting me down but it still stings a little every time (even after they've made Lady in the Water).
Sleep Well.
-Joseph.
Monday, October 1, 2007
The Furniture's Returning to its Goodwill Home.
Tiny Bits of News:
1. The Weakerthans are putting out a new album. I'm downloading it now. The two tracks on the Epitaph Records website are really good. I'm super pumped to listen to this for the next few months. I really needed a new album by them- especially right now. I have been in a Weakerthans mood of late.
Also- I am going to be putting out a Weakerthans/My Autumn Friend remix EP. On their site they have some "karaoke" mp3s and I plan on using those to mess around with. It's kind of an experiment for me. We'll see how it sounds. It's kinda just more for me so that I can maybe trick myself into thinking I've worked with them in some way.
John K. Samson is one of my most favorite and admired lyricists. I really love his words. I hope one day mine might be at least one tenth as good as his.
2. Jimmy Eat World has a new album coming out. Who knew? What a stealth album release. It comes out in like a week or something. I downloaded the 'demos' which, if they are anything like the Futures demos, they will be the exact same songs just with a click track counting the songs off. They sound pretty finished to me. Good stuff. Better than the last album I think. The only gripe I have is that the new version of "Carry You" is not nearly as good as the old version- at least I think.
3. Bottle Rocket and Rushmore are screening at the New Beverly cinema on October 7th-9th. I am way stoked. Way. Stoked.
4. Annie Hall and Manhattan are also gonna be at the New Bev on October 19th-20th. Again, way stoked. Way. Stoked.
5. I watched A Winter Observed again last night. I'm pretty proud of that movie.
6. my nose itches.
7. agh. still itching!
8. Ahh. There. All better.
Sleep Well.
-Joe
PS- Here are some of my favorite John K. Samson/Weakerthan lyrics:
"LEFT AND LEAVING
My city's still breathing (but barely it's true)
through buildings gone missing like teeth.
The sidewalks are watching me think about you,
sparkled with broken glass.
I'm back with scars to show.
Back with the streets I know will never take me anywhere but here.
The stain in the carpet, this drink in my hand,
the strangers whose faces I know.
We meet here for our dress-rehearsal to say " I wanted it this way"
Wait for the year to drown.
Spring forward, fall back down.
I'm trying not to wonder where you are.
All this time lingers, undefined.
Someone choose who's left and who's leaving.
Memory will rust and erode into lists of all that you gave me:
a blanket, some matches, this pain in my chest, the best parts of Lonely,
duct-tape and soldered wires, new words for old desires, and every birthday card I threw away.
I wait in 4/4 time. Count yellow highway lines that you're relying on to lead you home."
1. The Weakerthans are putting out a new album. I'm downloading it now. The two tracks on the Epitaph Records website are really good. I'm super pumped to listen to this for the next few months. I really needed a new album by them- especially right now. I have been in a Weakerthans mood of late.
Also- I am going to be putting out a Weakerthans/My Autumn Friend remix EP. On their site they have some "karaoke" mp3s and I plan on using those to mess around with. It's kind of an experiment for me. We'll see how it sounds. It's kinda just more for me so that I can maybe trick myself into thinking I've worked with them in some way.
John K. Samson is one of my most favorite and admired lyricists. I really love his words. I hope one day mine might be at least one tenth as good as his.
2. Jimmy Eat World has a new album coming out. Who knew? What a stealth album release. It comes out in like a week or something. I downloaded the 'demos' which, if they are anything like the Futures demos, they will be the exact same songs just with a click track counting the songs off. They sound pretty finished to me. Good stuff. Better than the last album I think. The only gripe I have is that the new version of "Carry You" is not nearly as good as the old version- at least I think.
3. Bottle Rocket and Rushmore are screening at the New Beverly cinema on October 7th-9th. I am way stoked. Way. Stoked.
4. Annie Hall and Manhattan are also gonna be at the New Bev on October 19th-20th. Again, way stoked. Way. Stoked.
5. I watched A Winter Observed again last night. I'm pretty proud of that movie.
6. my nose itches.
7. agh. still itching!
8. Ahh. There. All better.
Sleep Well.
-Joe
PS- Here are some of my favorite John K. Samson/Weakerthan lyrics:
"LEFT AND LEAVING
My city's still breathing (but barely it's true)
through buildings gone missing like teeth.
The sidewalks are watching me think about you,
sparkled with broken glass.
I'm back with scars to show.
Back with the streets I know will never take me anywhere but here.
The stain in the carpet, this drink in my hand,
the strangers whose faces I know.
We meet here for our dress-rehearsal to say " I wanted it this way"
Wait for the year to drown.
Spring forward, fall back down.
I'm trying not to wonder where you are.
All this time lingers, undefined.
Someone choose who's left and who's leaving.
Memory will rust and erode into lists of all that you gave me:
a blanket, some matches, this pain in my chest, the best parts of Lonely,
duct-tape and soldered wires, new words for old desires, and every birthday card I threw away.
I wait in 4/4 time. Count yellow highway lines that you're relying on to lead you home."
Sunday, September 30, 2007
You Try to Give Away a Keeper
Random thoughts:
1. I think it is weird that Lisa Loeb actually sings on the New Found Glory cover of Stay. I have always loved that song but for some reason I don't like their version. It just doesn't the same 'majik'- even with Miss Loeb's vocal additions.
For some reason, every time I listen to the original I regress mentally to back when I used to watch Reality Bites and dream of being older and cool like Ethan Hawke. To be in a cool band and have Winona Ryder be in love with me. It became somewhat of an obsession for me. I wanted life to feel like Reality Bites so much. I was in 4th grade. I had just moved to Iowa and still hadn't made any friends in Iowa City (not that I had any in Seattle) and I just wanted to be smarter and more clever than everyone else. Ethan Hawke and Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club were people I aspired to be. Even when I watch Reality Bites to this day I still feel that pang of "I wish my life felt like that- maybe it will... someday, when I'm older" - which, it occurred to me, is truly pathetic since I am now OLDER than any of the characters in the film. That just doesn't make any sense to me at all.
How is that possible?!?!
Ugh. It makes me sad. I'm changing the subject.
(back to the New Found Glory cover album, the Amelie song is a travesty. Ditto 'Don't You Forget About Me'. I don't mind 'The Promise' or 'Iris' though.)
2. If I win this Dashboard Confessional contest I've decided on a few things I will buy. Here they are...
A. A new pair of glasses.
B. One of those speakers that you plug your iPod into.
C. A mini button machine.
D: A nice pair of sunglasses.
E. A real haircut by someone else other than myself making fists of hair and cutting off whatever sticks through my fingers.
This post will serve as an annoying reminder of my counted chickens if I don't win. As will gazing through the scratched lenses of my old glasses.
3. I get paid on the 5th of October. It will be the first substantial pay check since like May, I'm happy to not be so incorrigibly broke this month. Goodbye peanut butter sandwiches and .99 cent bottles of generic grape soda. Eff you. I never loved you. it was all a lie!
The only lame thing is that until then I am totally broke. Like- TOTALLY broke. Like right now I don't have any money for gas and I am on E (for empty). Hopefully I will get through it without eating Nelson (JUST KIDDING! If we were starving, I'd let him eat me.)
4. It's hard to motivate myself to go to the gym lately because part of me has resigned myself to the idea of being alone for the rest of my life. Yes I go for me as much as anyone else but lately I've just felt so alone that it seems like if no one even looks at you longer than 10 seconds, why bother being anything less than a slovenly freak? It takes all the effort I have these days just to comb my hair or brush my teeth. As far as girls go, I've decided that I am way too picky and have such a specific type that I like and those girls just aren't real. They only exist on film or fantasy.
Amelie. Felicity. These women do not actually exist. They are fictitious. And- just in case you thought I'd forgotten, both were created by MEN. So yeah. I guess I'm gay. Deal with it family! I have! I'm just a big ol' gay guy!
5. I want to use the word 'advantageous' more in my speech. It is a silly goal I know, but I like to throw random words into my vocabulary til they are just naturally there. The only problem is that then I use them too much. It becomes a problem. It's like because I made such an effort to include them in my speech, they become the first word in my mental database of words and can feel forced.
"Hey man, you wanna get some thai food and catch a movie? I think it'd be advantageous of us."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why would it be advantageous of us?"
"Uh... because. It would be to our advantage to eat good food and see a movie."
"No it wouldn't. What 'advantage' would we have?"
"We would have the ADVANTAGE over hunger and boredom. Those bastards have been on my ass for the last 25 years and it's time they PAID!"
"Uhh... okay. Whatever man."
Sleep well.
-joe
1. I think it is weird that Lisa Loeb actually sings on the New Found Glory cover of Stay. I have always loved that song but for some reason I don't like their version. It just doesn't the same 'majik'- even with Miss Loeb's vocal additions.
For some reason, every time I listen to the original I regress mentally to back when I used to watch Reality Bites and dream of being older and cool like Ethan Hawke. To be in a cool band and have Winona Ryder be in love with me. It became somewhat of an obsession for me. I wanted life to feel like Reality Bites so much. I was in 4th grade. I had just moved to Iowa and still hadn't made any friends in Iowa City (not that I had any in Seattle) and I just wanted to be smarter and more clever than everyone else. Ethan Hawke and Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club were people I aspired to be. Even when I watch Reality Bites to this day I still feel that pang of "I wish my life felt like that- maybe it will... someday, when I'm older" - which, it occurred to me, is truly pathetic since I am now OLDER than any of the characters in the film. That just doesn't make any sense to me at all.
How is that possible?!?!
Ugh. It makes me sad. I'm changing the subject.
(back to the New Found Glory cover album, the Amelie song is a travesty. Ditto 'Don't You Forget About Me'. I don't mind 'The Promise' or 'Iris' though.)
2. If I win this Dashboard Confessional contest I've decided on a few things I will buy. Here they are...
A. A new pair of glasses.
B. One of those speakers that you plug your iPod into.
C. A mini button machine.
D: A nice pair of sunglasses.
E. A real haircut by someone else other than myself making fists of hair and cutting off whatever sticks through my fingers.
This post will serve as an annoying reminder of my counted chickens if I don't win. As will gazing through the scratched lenses of my old glasses.
3. I get paid on the 5th of October. It will be the first substantial pay check since like May, I'm happy to not be so incorrigibly broke this month. Goodbye peanut butter sandwiches and .99 cent bottles of generic grape soda. Eff you. I never loved you. it was all a lie!
The only lame thing is that until then I am totally broke. Like- TOTALLY broke. Like right now I don't have any money for gas and I am on E (for empty). Hopefully I will get through it without eating Nelson (JUST KIDDING! If we were starving, I'd let him eat me.)
4. It's hard to motivate myself to go to the gym lately because part of me has resigned myself to the idea of being alone for the rest of my life. Yes I go for me as much as anyone else but lately I've just felt so alone that it seems like if no one even looks at you longer than 10 seconds, why bother being anything less than a slovenly freak? It takes all the effort I have these days just to comb my hair or brush my teeth. As far as girls go, I've decided that I am way too picky and have such a specific type that I like and those girls just aren't real. They only exist on film or fantasy.
Amelie. Felicity. These women do not actually exist. They are fictitious. And- just in case you thought I'd forgotten, both were created by MEN. So yeah. I guess I'm gay. Deal with it family! I have! I'm just a big ol' gay guy!
5. I want to use the word 'advantageous' more in my speech. It is a silly goal I know, but I like to throw random words into my vocabulary til they are just naturally there. The only problem is that then I use them too much. It becomes a problem. It's like because I made such an effort to include them in my speech, they become the first word in my mental database of words and can feel forced.
"Hey man, you wanna get some thai food and catch a movie? I think it'd be advantageous of us."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why would it be advantageous of us?"
"Uh... because. It would be to our advantage to eat good food and see a movie."
"No it wouldn't. What 'advantage' would we have?"
"We would have the ADVANTAGE over hunger and boredom. Those bastards have been on my ass for the last 25 years and it's time they PAID!"
"Uhh... okay. Whatever man."
Sleep well.
-joe
Saturday, September 29, 2007
The Fathers of Fortunate Sons
(5 things that should come as a surprise to no one.)
1. I saw "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" last night. It blazed my face off. I loved it. Not as much as I loved "Sunshine" but it is at a pretty solid number 2 on my favorite movies of the year.
2. The new Iron & Wine record: "The Shepherd's Dog" is great. I highly recommend it. A great album. Once again, Mr. Beam does not disappoint. There are signs of growth (this is more of a 'band' record) but it never feels unfamiliar.
3. The new Dashboard Confessional album is pretty good. It totally feels like it should have come out between "The Places You've Come To Fear The Most" and "A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar." With his last two records there was a pretty high "skip" quotient (the number of songs I skip vs. the ones I... don't.) but this one is actually much lower. The best songs on the album are (in my opinion): Where There's Gold, Matters of Blood and Connection and the title track The Shade of Poison Trees, which, I'm sure will either be the soundtrack a million high school proms or a million lame teen TV melodramas- but I say that with love because the song is really good.
It's just, y'know... yeah.
4. "Blankets" by Craig Thompson is good even on the 2nd reading- though it felt very strange to read again because when I read it the first time, I was still with Heather and so now when I read it, I had a totally different perspective. Now I read it and it feels even closer to me. Even more intimate. Even more specific. Now I relate to his heart break in a way that I didn't before. When I read it before, I had a more vague memory of what it felt like to watch love die but now it is still so fresh in my mind. Heather and I had read it together and felt its connection to our lives in a mostly sort of 'hindsight' point of view- which, while my reaction to it before was intense, it never felt as intense as it did when I read it this time. It brought back so many memories. Not only of experiences that it reflected in my life but of the person I was when I read it the first time. It made me feel drunk on melancholy and nostalgia in that painful and yet slightly pleasurable way that only great art that you connect with your life can.
That said, the ending still bugs me. Him falling away from his faith feels so rushed. I'm sure in real life it was much more of a journey but it felt like he kinda jumps to the end of that journey in the book. I still pray for him though. I still hope that he comes back to the faith because his work is so inspiring.
I wanna read a new great book. I need something that is new to me that will inspire me for the first time. Life always feels just a little more dramatic, just a little more special when you're sharing it with a great character. The last one I read was The Perks of Being A Wallflower. I need another one of those. A new "Blankets". Maybe it will be Tompson's next book although I doubt it since it has (reportedly) something to do with the middle east. But I am excited to read it. He posted some pages from it and the sight of new artwork by him made me feel warm inside. Like an old friend.
5. It's always a little bittersweet whenever Adrian Tomine releases a trade paperback of his comics. The new one "Shortcomings" was like 8 years in the making. I've already read all of the individual comics (though I'm sure I'll still by the trade- I did with the last one "Summer Blonde"). I wasn't a huge fan of the story and knowing that he's probably going to wait another 2 years before he publishes even another issue of Optic Nerve kinda pisses me off. Bro needs to get on it. If a band even put out stuff as infrequently I'd be annoyed. Especially if it felt as rushed (ironically) as these three issues did. Anyone who knows me or has read any of my blogs in the past knows this rant so I'll spare you all- but I'll say this, if you haven't read the Optic Nerve issues, check out the book but be warned that it is a let down. It is not as good as "Summer Blonde" or "Sleep Walk" and does not bode well if this is what we have to look forward to with Mr. Tomine- another 8 years for what is (in my mind) a disappointing result. Just a fair warning, that's all.
Sleep well.
-joe
1. I saw "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" last night. It blazed my face off. I loved it. Not as much as I loved "Sunshine" but it is at a pretty solid number 2 on my favorite movies of the year.
2. The new Iron & Wine record: "The Shepherd's Dog" is great. I highly recommend it. A great album. Once again, Mr. Beam does not disappoint. There are signs of growth (this is more of a 'band' record) but it never feels unfamiliar.
3. The new Dashboard Confessional album is pretty good. It totally feels like it should have come out between "The Places You've Come To Fear The Most" and "A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar." With his last two records there was a pretty high "skip" quotient (the number of songs I skip vs. the ones I... don't.) but this one is actually much lower. The best songs on the album are (in my opinion): Where There's Gold, Matters of Blood and Connection and the title track The Shade of Poison Trees, which, I'm sure will either be the soundtrack a million high school proms or a million lame teen TV melodramas- but I say that with love because the song is really good.
It's just, y'know... yeah.
4. "Blankets" by Craig Thompson is good even on the 2nd reading- though it felt very strange to read again because when I read it the first time, I was still with Heather and so now when I read it, I had a totally different perspective. Now I read it and it feels even closer to me. Even more intimate. Even more specific. Now I relate to his heart break in a way that I didn't before. When I read it before, I had a more vague memory of what it felt like to watch love die but now it is still so fresh in my mind. Heather and I had read it together and felt its connection to our lives in a mostly sort of 'hindsight' point of view- which, while my reaction to it before was intense, it never felt as intense as it did when I read it this time. It brought back so many memories. Not only of experiences that it reflected in my life but of the person I was when I read it the first time. It made me feel drunk on melancholy and nostalgia in that painful and yet slightly pleasurable way that only great art that you connect with your life can.
That said, the ending still bugs me. Him falling away from his faith feels so rushed. I'm sure in real life it was much more of a journey but it felt like he kinda jumps to the end of that journey in the book. I still pray for him though. I still hope that he comes back to the faith because his work is so inspiring.
I wanna read a new great book. I need something that is new to me that will inspire me for the first time. Life always feels just a little more dramatic, just a little more special when you're sharing it with a great character. The last one I read was The Perks of Being A Wallflower. I need another one of those. A new "Blankets". Maybe it will be Tompson's next book although I doubt it since it has (reportedly) something to do with the middle east. But I am excited to read it. He posted some pages from it and the sight of new artwork by him made me feel warm inside. Like an old friend.
5. It's always a little bittersweet whenever Adrian Tomine releases a trade paperback of his comics. The new one "Shortcomings" was like 8 years in the making. I've already read all of the individual comics (though I'm sure I'll still by the trade- I did with the last one "Summer Blonde"). I wasn't a huge fan of the story and knowing that he's probably going to wait another 2 years before he publishes even another issue of Optic Nerve kinda pisses me off. Bro needs to get on it. If a band even put out stuff as infrequently I'd be annoyed. Especially if it felt as rushed (ironically) as these three issues did. Anyone who knows me or has read any of my blogs in the past knows this rant so I'll spare you all- but I'll say this, if you haven't read the Optic Nerve issues, check out the book but be warned that it is a let down. It is not as good as "Summer Blonde" or "Sleep Walk" and does not bode well if this is what we have to look forward to with Mr. Tomine- another 8 years for what is (in my mind) a disappointing result. Just a fair warning, that's all.
Sleep well.
-joe
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